


I'll Paint You Wings

by summerdownturn



Series: How to Train Your Dragon [4]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Brief Mention of Suicide, Dragon!Josh, F/F, Finally goes to the doctor, Fluff, Hand Jobs, Hospitals, Human!Tyler, Josh is in more pain, Kittens, M/M, More insecure Josh, New Years Eve, Supernatural Elements, Tyler meets Josh's family, pillow forts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-04-11 18:54:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4447814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerdownturn/pseuds/summerdownturn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things have to get worse before they can get better. Tyler can't stand watching Josh be in pain anymore. He knows how hard it is to learn how to love yourself, but Josh doesn't have to do it alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> More angst than fluff this time guys so, sorry.  
> This will the maybe last part of this series, but it'll be chaptered because these will be more connected. But I don't have this finished yet or know exactly how it will end, so who knows. There may be more parts after this.

Josh wasn’t particularly having the best day. In fact, he was having a rather rubbish day. It started with him and Tyler waking up late, causing a commotion and a broken coffee machine (the kettle was recently out of commission also), so neither of them had their caffeine fix. Then they managed to catch all the morning traffic on the way to campus and wound up twenty minutes late for class.

But that was just the start.

When Josh finally managed to grab a cup of tea, he managed to spill it all over his books in the library. Josh didn’t know whether to scream or cry. He settled for a deep sigh that may have contained a hint of smoke, and he had to hold himself back from torching the whole library as he mopped up the spill.

But his bad luck and clumsy hands didn’t stop just there, oh no. Josh also somehow managed to spill two hot cups of customers’ coffee down his front within the first twenty minutes after clocking in at the coffee shop. His manager just took one look at his frustrated expression and wet clothing and told him to go home.

Josh came home to the last thing he wanted to see. Or rather one of the things that he would rather not see. Tyler was nowhere to be seen at first glance, but his bag and shoes were thrown carelessly in front of the door. Josh hoped he was just taking a nap. He swallowed the hint of worry beginning to make itself known at the base of his throat and put away his things before going to look for his boyfriend.

“Ty?” Josh called out softly as he walked into their bedroom. The bed was unmade and empty, and Josh sighed, turning his head to find the closet doors opened a crack. “Ty,” Josh groaned, walking over to the closet and opening the doors all the way to see Tyler scribbling furiously in a notebook. “Why today?” Josh groaned to himself, running his hands down his face.

Josh crouched down in front of his boyfriend, regardless. “Hey, Ty. When did you get home?” There was no answer and Josh huffed out a breath, dropping his head. He ran a hand through his hair before trying again. “Please talk to me, Ty.” All rationality soon left Josh’s head as Tyler stayed silent, not paying him any attention. Josh was frustrated, all he wanted was a calm night, cuddling with his boyfriend and maybe ordering some takeout. Nothing was going right today, and he couldn’t take it any longer. He couldn’t even pound it out on his drums because it was too late at night and other tenants were sleeping. 

Josh growled, “Fuck this,” and angrily got to his feet, pacing in front of the closet for a minute before he broke his pace and kicked the dresser with a yell. Josh watched carelessly as several items fell to the ground, and he wish he could kick it again, maybe something else, something that would break, but he immediately felt guilty for losing his cool in front of Tyler in his withdrawn and vulnerable state.

Josh paused for a moment, willing his body to relax, and he let out most of his tension with a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Ty. I shouldn’t have don’t that,” he murmured, not daring to look at Tyler, not wanting to see the expression on his face, if he even noticed his outburst. Josh didn’t know which would be worse. “Just had a bad day. I shouldn’t be taking it out on you. Or the dresser. Sorry.” Josh felt exhaustion wash over him. He stripped out of his jeans and stumbled over to the bed, still not daring to look back at the closet. Josh fell into the bed with a groan, immediately burying himself deep within the covers, even going as far as pulling up and turning on the heated blankets that were deposited on the floor. Josh sighed all his frustration away, let it melt away in the heat and softness of his bed, and soon everything else faded away.

Josh awakened to a dip in the bed and a hand on his shoulder. Glancing at the alarm clock on the side table, he found that he had been asleep for an hour, and it was now almost two in the morning. Turning over, he found Tyler holding out a plate with a sandwich on it. Tyler didn’t say anything, his eyes were kind of glossed over, deep purple under them, and his whole being screamed _tired_.

Josh sat up and gave him a small smile. “Thanks,” he croaked out in a sleepy voice. Usually it was him trying to make sure Tyler ate. Josh mentally slapped himself for freaking Tyler out so much that their roles were now reversed. Josh felt guilty, but he took the plate anyway, and his guilt ebbed away a little bit as he saw Tyler reach for another plate on the other side table. They ate in silence, Josh taking small bites while Tyler more or less played with his food, taking bites here and there. Eventually, he gave the last two thirds of his sandwich to Josh, although Josh made him take another bite before he ate the rest.

Josh set their plates aside on the table, and turned back to Tyler. He still didn’t say a word, but his hand came up to tug on Josh’s shirt, and Josh got the message. He easily threw his shirt off and peeled his binder down to free his wings. Josh rolled his shoulders before settling back down next to Tyler. Josh threw the heated blankets off of him before throwing the remaining comforter over to include Tyler. Josh wrapped his limbs around Tyler, including his wings, and hummed in content as Tyler’s hand caressed his side. Josh ran a hand through Tyler’s hair before pressing a kiss to his forehead. When he pulled back to see a small smile on Tyler’s lips, Josh felt like his chest was full of warmth and compassion, more than his heated blankets could provide him with.

“I love you so much,” Josh said sleepily as he drifted off.

“I know,” Tyler replied, sounding far away as Josh let sleep overtake him.

* * *

“Are you sure you want to come?”

“Yeah, Josh. I’m sure.”

“Like, it wouldn’t offend me if you didn’t want to.”

“Josh, I’m going. I want to go.”

“Okay… But like, just know that you don’t have to.”

“Josh! I’m going to have to meet your family sooner or later. We’ve been dating for a year now, I think it’s a little overdue.”

Josh groaned. “Alright.”

“I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? They’re already dragons.” Josh’s head whipped around to face Tyler and Tyler had to hold back a smile. “Wait, what if they’re _actual_ dragons?” Tyler feigned seriousness and slight horror. “What if they invited me over to eat me? I don’t know if I can deal being eaten by your family, Josh.”

“Oh my god, I’m going to strangle you.” Josh exclaimed and Tyler broke out into a series of giggles.

They were on their way to Josh’s parents’ house for Thanksgiving dinner and it was also the first time Tyler was going to meet Josh’s parents. Despite how long their relationship had been going on, they had yet to spend any family holiday together with how family oriented they both were. Tyler managed to convince his parents to let him join Josh’s family for Thanksgiving as long as Josh managed to stop by for Christmas at the Joseph’s.

But walking into the Dun house was a lot less stressful than Tyler thought it would be. Of course he was worried that his boyfriend’s family wouldn’t like him, but Josh was already stressed out enough without having to hear Tyler’s own worries. Good thing the Duns were welcoming, and Tyler easily felt at home around the dinner table.

Of course, they wanted to know everything about him, which was kind of unsettling, but Tyler shyly answered their questions anyway.

“So, Tyler. Josh told us that you’re a med student. What field of medicine do you want to practice?” Josh’s mother asked kindly as she handed him the mashed potatoes. It shouldn’t of surprised Tyler that Josh talked about him to his parents, but he still found it weird.

“Uh, pre-med actually. Well, actually I’m going for a bachelor’s in nursing before I consider medical school.” Tyler answered, staring intently at his plate. It was always _so joyous_ talking about college plans. Tyler glanced up at Josh to see him smiling at him and Tyler straightened himself up to continue. “But I’m thinking about going into Pediatrics or Psychiatrics.” 

“Oh, that’s wonderful. You get along well with children then?” Josh’s mother asked politely. Tyler smiled.

“Yeah, kids are great. I was the oldest of my siblings, too, so I helped take care of them. Actually, I wanted to go straight to medical school, but my mom convinced me to get a degree in nursing before I decide to further my education.” After talking it out with his mother, nursing seemed like a better path that Tyler was more interested in, especially since he still had crippling insecurities about being a good doctor. He still had three more semesters before he earned his nursing degree, and his excitement out-won his nervousness as he was to start clinical rotations next semester.

“I was the same with Josh, but he’s so determined to become a vet,” Josh’s mother laughed, and Tyler joined in, enjoying the miffed look on his boyfriend’s face. Josh was earning his technician degree the next semester, but unlike Tyler, he was immediately going to medical school afterward. Tyler had no doubt Josh would be a wonderful vet, even if mammals seemed to be wary of Josh at first (Josh told him that they can sense he was a predator), while reptiles seemed to never want to leave Josh’s presence, even though Josh wasn’t too fond of other scaly creatures.

Tyler smiled, looking fondly at Josh who ducked his head to try to hide the embarrassed look on his face. “The food’s really great, mom,” Josh said a little too loudly, determined to change the conversation away from him.

After dinner, Josh and his brother “volunteered” to clean the kitchen, while the rest of the family and Tyler went outside to enjoy the crisp and cool autumn air. Okay, so it was much colder than that since it was almost winter, but Tyler reminded himself that the Duns’ body temperature was unnaturally warm, so Tyler just grabbed Josh’s hoodie and didn’t complain. Tyler sat down next to Josh’s mother on the patio, while Josh’s father and sisters went out on the lawn. Tyler was itching to ask all of these questions about Josh now that he was out of earshot. Josh’s mother seemed to sense this and sighed. 

“He’s not doing well, is he?”

Tyler bit his lip and wrung his fingers at the concern in her voice. “I’m not sure.” He paused to look down at his hands. “I wanted to ask if he was always like this. With the…” Tyler gestured to her wings, trying to find the right word. “The hiding.” Josh’s mental state had been getting worse lately, and Tyler had no idea why, but he was starting to worry. He would wear a hat more often, looser shirts or thick hoodies, and he started to avoid opening up their bedroom closet. Josh was starting to push away the things that he used to love sharing with Tyler about being a dragon. And it pained Tyler that Josh was hurting physically as well, going through bottles of painkillers to help his sore wings and back. 

The rest of the Duns seemed to be comfortable with their wings and tails out, although he noticed they all had a habit of wrapping their tails around their torsos. Josh did that under his binder and around the house when he was nervous, so it wasn’t surprising, but what was surprising was how loosely the others held their wings and how exceptionally large they were compared to Josh’s. Josh’s were always held close to his body whenever he had them out, only unfolding them to stretch or when they curled around Tyler when he slept.

Their scales on their wings were also more vibrant, like the scales on Josh’s shoulders. Tyler often loved running his hand up Josh’s arms to feel the flesh turn into the smooth scales. He noticed that they gradually turned more red the further away from the skin they were, a gradient turning from pink to red, to a dark maroon at the base of Josh’s wings and the middle of his back, to the black of his wings. Everyone else’s scales seemed vibrant, not having the change to a darker gradient. 

Tyler secretly wondered if this was why Josh didn’t go to see his family as often as Tyler did, having such a different appearance to his family. And as Tyler was startled by one of Josh’s sisters flapping her wings so that she was propelled into the air, Tyler realized Josh couldn’t even possibly fly. Tyler’s chest ached thinking of how Josh probably felt ostracized in his own home, let alone by the outside world.

“Well, no. He wasn’t always like this. As a child he loved who he was. Eager and determined to learn new things about being a hybrid.” She smiled fondly, but her face fell as she continued. “Then he started school. And it was hard for him. Being different. I remember him coming home crying all the time saying how much he hated humans because they bullied him. It broke my heart.

“It’s tough on him because he’s the oldest. Josh had to take all the bullying, while later he protecting his siblings from it instead. He grew up without many friends, isolating himself from the humans at school. I was so relieved when he met Debby. I thought that she could help him learn to love himself again. But then high school came and…” She paused, and Tyler watched as she wiped carefully at her teary eyes.

“It was worse for him. It got so bad, well, I should let him tell you on his own. But we ended up having to take him to the hospital, and the doctors and they psychiatrists there decided that it would be best if we let him bind his wings. We tried to make him go see someone to talk about it, but he wouldn’t talk. And then college came and he was gone.”

Tyler didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know where to start. He let his eyes wander to Josh’s sisters playing in the grass, and wondered if they were this happy because of all the pain Josh had protected them from. But Tyler knew what came with being the oldest sibling, so of course Josh would do anything to protect them. A moment passed before Tyler spoke up, quietly. “I think he needs to see someone again.” 

Josh’s mother nodded, reaching over to take Tyler’s hand in hers. “Yeah. I can give you the number to his physician. But I can already see how much you’re helping him.” Tyler looked over at her with a confused expression. She smiled at him fondly. “The way he looks at you. We could never get him over his anxieties. But I’m positive that he’d do anything for you, Tyler.”

Tyler let those words settle, and they rested uncomfortably on his chest. He knew how much he loved Josh, and Tyler would do anything for him. But to hear the words directed at him made him feel something Tyler couldn’t pinpoint. But Josh and his brother coming outside saved him from responding.

“What are we talking about?” Josh questioned, sitting next to Tyler and eyeing his mother’s hand in Tyler’s. 

“Your mom was just comforting me since I’m still not sure if your family will want to eat me or not,” Tyler responded with a smirk and Josh snorted.

“No, Tyler is far too boney for my taste.” Josh’s mother winked at Tyler and Josh laughed as his boyfriend’s eyes widened and he moved to pull back his hand.

* * *

“Stop moving.” Tyler mumbled as his gloved hand tried to hold Josh’s head still, but Josh was bouncing his leg up and down with nervous energy. 

“I just don’t want you to mess it up like last time.” Josh commented, and Tyler locked eyes with him in the mirror and scoffed at Josh’s smirk.

“It was nothing a hat couldn’t fix.” Tyler shrugged. “But if you keep moving there will be a repeat of last time.” Josh stilled after that threat and Tyler continued to apply the dye to Josh’s hair. Josh had a habit of getting the dye everywhere when he did his own hair, so it was rather quickly after Tyler moved in that he offered to do it for Josh if he could save the bathroom counter and walls from another splash of color. For this time, Josh had picked a bright pink to cover up the faded red, not quite ready to bleach his hair for a new color even though the pink wouldn’t cover up Josh’s dark roots. It was still better than the ugly orange-red mess.

“If you keep moving Josh you’re going to end up with pink skin.” Tyler sighed and took a step back to avoid the dye brush accidentally touching a part of Josh that wasn’t supposed to get dyed.

“Sorry, just-” Josh let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, stilling all of his movements. “Go on.” Tyler waited a second before stepping back to his boyfriend, carefully supporting his head and covering the longer part of his hair with the dye. When Tyler saw Josh twitching to move again, he put down the brush and threaded his gloved fingers through Josh’s hair to get the dye spread out evenly. Tyler hummed a tune softly as he worked soothing circles over Josh’s scalp, and smiled when he saw Josh relax once again. 

Tyler wondered if Josh was so tense and wired because of the two cans of Redbull he had for breakfast, or the fact that this was the first time that Tyler was dyeing his hair without a shirt to cover his wings. Josh was slowly getting more comfortable having them out around Tyler, especially when Tyler ran his hands over the sore muscles of Josh’s shoulders and upper back. Slowly but surely, Josh was getting more comfortable with Tyler touching his leathered wings and moving away from his uncomfortable binder. It was a small success, one that often seemed like a baby step forward and two steps back, but it was progress.

Tyler had yet to ask Josh if he would go to the doctor to get his wings checked now that they often caused him pain with or without moving them, and it was starting to get ridiculous with how many pain relievers they had laying around the apartment. Tyler struggled with himself to bring it up, but Josh was finally relaxed and peaceful, and Tyler couldn’t bring himself to do it at that moment. 

“Alright, all done.” Tyler busied himself with cleaning up the bathroom as Josh put on a plastic cap that would help the dye set faster (and also prevent him from getting dye all over the couch, _again_.)

“Thanks, Ty.” Josh pulled him away from trying to screw the lid on the dye jar, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, and Tyler couldn’t help but smile.

“No problem, J.” Tyler’s smile never left his face as Josh left the bathroom to go sit in the living room, or even after he finished cleaning up the bathroom. His smile was replaced with a concerned expression when he left the bathroom, though. Tyler worried his lip when he saw Josh sitting on the couch uncomfortably. He was rubbing at the back of his neck as he surfed through the television channels, and Tyler could see the pain held in his shoulders and back as he tried to relax further into the couch. He needed to get Josh to the doctor. 

Tyler decided to start out cautiously. “I hate seeing you in pain like this,” he murmured softly as he sat down next to Josh. Josh didn’t look away from the TV. 

“’m fine,” he mumbled, dropping his hand away from his neck and hiding a wince as he tried to get more comfortable on the couch. 

Tyler huffed out a breath. He was starting to get tired of this conversation. “You’re not fine. I can barely touch you without worrying that I’m going to hurt you, Josh. You need to go to the doctor.” Josh just responded with shrug and another badly hidden wince. Tyler deflated with a sigh, folding himself in to rest his arms on his knees and his head in his hands. He didn’t want Josh to be in pain anymore. “Please,” Tyler begged, voice breaking. He pressed his palms into his eyes, trying to hide the tears that were beginning to form behind his eyelids. 

It stayed uncomfortably silent for several minutes, the only sound being the Discovery Channel in the background, and Tyler was just about to break and give up, but then he felt arms wrap around him. Tyler melted into Josh’s embrace.

“Okay.” Josh whispered, burying his face into Tyler’s neck, and Tyler breathed out a laugh when he felt Josh’s cap lift up and Josh’s hair smear dye under Tyler’s chin. “Sorry.” Josh laughed when he realized what he did, and he pulled back to try and clean up the mess on Tyler’s neck, but Tyler swiped his finger though it first and smeared the dye down Josh’s cheek. 

“Oops. Now we’re even.”

Later, Tyler ran his hands through Josh’s wet and newly dyed hair as Josh called his doctor’s office to book an appointment, not caring when his hands were tinged pink afterward. He needed to comfort his boyfriend who was filled with anxiety at the thought of going to the doctor. After Josh made the appointment and put down the phone, Tyler made sure to pepper his face with kisses and tell Josh how proud he was of him.

The next few days consisted of Tyler calming Josh down and distracting him nearly every second he could until his doctor’s appointment. It was hard when Josh was at work or when they had class or when Tyler had basketball practice, but Tyler made sure to text him often.

Eventually, the day came when Josh had to make his way to the doctor’s, and Tyler decided that it would be best if he drove instead of Josh, who held his hand over the center console in a death grip the whole way there.

Tyler comforted Josh while they waited in the waiting room, Josh’s head laying on Tyler’s shoulder, and Tyler playing with Josh’s pink hair. Tyler could tell Josh was counting his breaths, and his hands and legs were tapping out a rhythm to distract himself. The only time Josh stilled was when the nurse called out his name to come back.

Tyler shot Josh a reassuring smile when he got up, asking, “Do you want me to come with you?”, but Josh just shook his head and walked to the nurse who led him into the back.

And then it was Tyler’s turned to be nervous. He didn’t like doctor’s offices either. And he felt guilty for feeling relieved that Josh didn’t want him to go back with him, but waiting rooms were almost worse than the actual office itself. Tyler felt uneasy in an uncomfortable chair surrounded by sick people, with the only entertainment being a TV that only showed informational medical programs and a child’s table full of toys that he was too old to play with and probably held a ridiculous amount of germs.

But Tyler was also worried about Josh, and it made him anxious not knowing what the doctor thought Josh should do about his wings. Or what Josh thought he should do about his wings. But Tyler just hoped that Josh would listen to whatever the doctor told him, or else it would have been pointless to even come there. 

It was nearly an hour later when Josh emerged from the door looking exhausted and holding a packet of papers. He shot Tyler a tired smile and Tyler got up to walk out with him. Neither of them said anything until Tyler started the car and they were almost halfway home.

“He wants me to go get x-rays and then start physical therapy. Also, no more binder and a prescription for better pain meds.” Josh spoke quietly, rustling the papers on his lap and looking at them halfheartedly.

Tyler bit his lip as he tried to figure out what to say. Josh didn’t look too happy, but he wasn’t happy about this whole situation. “Well, that’s good, right?” He glanced over to Josh to catch him shrugging. “Well… I think it’ll be good for you, Josh. Maybe it’ll make you feel better. Like, I know you don’t want to see them, but maybe it’ll help if you…” Tyler paused to try to find the right words, “work them into a healthier state.” His tone ended in a questioning voice, and Tyler glanced over at Josh again. 

Josh was staring out the window now, only letting out a quiet, “Yeah.” It was silent for a few more minutes as Tyler’s brain swam with things that he should say. But Josh beat him too it. “He also wants me to see a counselor. A therapist. To… talk about it.”

Tyler bit his lip to prevent him from startling Josh with how happy he was about that. Talking about it would help. Instead, he settled for taking Josh’s hand in his while he collected his thoughts. “Good. This’ll be so good for you, Josh. I promise. And I’ll be here whenever you need me, okay?” Tyler glanced once more away from the road to Josh, but Josh was still staring out the window and Tyler couldn’t gage his expression. 

Tyler worried for a second that he had said the wrong thing, but then he felt Josh squeeze his hand in reassurance that he was listening. Josh was just stuck too far in his own head right now. But Tyler felt hope bubble up in his chest, hope that Josh would one day see himself as wonderfully as Tyler saw him, to accept all part of himself. And he wanted so desperately for Josh to feel the same sense of hope, no matter how deep and surrounded by darkness it may be. Just as long as it was there.

Tyler just wanted Josh to save himself before it was too late.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh didn’t have much experience on anniversaries. Hell, this was his only relationship that ever lasted a year. But Josh was pretty sure that this was how anniversaries were supposed to go, and he could safely say that this was the best one that he had ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So usually there is fluff, angst, fluff, angst, and more fluff. This chapter is pure fluff… and also kinda smutty. Nothing penetrative, just frotting, hand jobs, and cuddles. But then there's immediately more fluff after that.

Josh wasn’t happy when he had to get x-rays taken of his wings and chest to make sure he didn’t do any internal damage. He wasn’t all that happy either when the x-rays found the source of pain he had been having recently. With wearing his binder daily and for way longer than he was supposed to, it managed to create enough force to fracture his wings in several places. The doctors told him he was lucky that he came in when he did, or else he probably would’ve damaged his wings beyond repair.

And while this meant that Josh could delay going to physical therapy, it also meant that his wings were now splinted in a way so they could hardly move and there was no comfortable way for him to sit or lay down. Thankfully the fractures and bruising were minor, so they would heal in about a month thanks to Josh’s faster than average healing. But for now, Josh was homebound for at least two weeks so he didn’t accidentally damage his wings any further.

Which meant Tyler often came home to Josh sprawled out on his stomach on the bed, the only semi-comfortable position he was allowed, watching Netflix on the laptop and looking absolutely miserable. But it also gave him a good view of Josh’s wings, which couldn’t fold down properly now due to the splints. They were definitely stunted compared to the rest of the Duns. It only looked like Josh had a wingspan of five or six feet, while Josh’s father easily had a twelve-foot wingspan.

Tyler had no idea when hybrids reached full maturity, but it looked like Josh definitely started binding before his wings could reach their full potential.

“Hey,” Tyler announced, fully coming into the bedroom. Josh replied and scooted over so Tyler could lie down next to him on the bed. “What did you watch today?”

“Nature documentaries.” Josh answered, and Tyler looked at the screen to see Josh was now scrolling aimlessly through Twitter.

“By ‘nature documentaries’ do you mean rewatching all of Walking with Dinosaurs again?”

Josh scoffed incredulously, “No.” But Tyler shot him a look that made Josh smirk. “You know me too well.” Tyler leaned down to kiss the smile off of Josh’s face before he got up off the bed, Josh whining and halfheartedly making grabby hands at him.

“I’m just making us some dinner, jeez, man.”

Tyler left Josh to his own devices while he made some Easy Mac, and Josh switched the computer tab over to Netflix again. When Tyler came back with the food, Josh switched tabs a little too late, and Tyler had to hide his smirk when Josh turned around to grab his food.

“We should just like, move the TV in here for the next month, that way we can play Mario Kart.” Tyler suggested, picking at his food while Josh was shoveling his down. 

Josh paused to nod his head in agreement. “I should just have you make all the decisions. You have all the best ideas.” He praised.

Tyler snorted. “If I made all the decisions around here, the rent would never get paid and the fridge would always be empty.” Tyler shook his head and took a bite off of his fork, mumbling around his food, “Nuh-uh, we’re a team, Dun.”

“Speaking of team, I thought you had practice today?” 

“Got canceled. The power’s out in the gym.” Tyler shrugged. He would just have to make extra time this weekend to practice. 

“Huh. That’s convenient.” Josh added, finishing the final bite of his food before handing Tyler back the empty bowl. “We should do something then.”

Tyler raised an eyebrow at Josh’s bowl. He wanted to remind Josh that his wings were broken, not his legs, but he refrained. “Like what?” 

“I don’t know. You’re the one with all the great ideas.” Josh smirked, and Tyler wanted to break his legs as well for the amount of sass in his tone.

“Fine. I know what we can do if you’re going to be so sassy about it.” Tyler put their bowls aside and went to his backpack to grab something, stopping at the bathroom to take a towel before sitting back down on the bed. Josh’s eyes widened when he saw what Tyler was holding.

“How is that fun?” Josh complained, and Tyler smirked.

“You didn’t say it had to be _fun_.” Tyler shook the bottles in his hand. “Besides, this’ll be fun for me.” Josh groaned as Tyler set the towel down between them, but he gave Tyler his hand regardless.

Josh whined when he saw the color Tyler chose for him. “Why does it have to be pink?” Tyler took Josh’s hand in his own and swiped a stripe of pink on his nail before he could complain any further. 

“You’re not seriously complaining to me about the color pink, J. Your hair is _literally_ pink. You have _no room_ to complain. And don’t even try to play the macho card with me, either. I saw you were watching Mean Girls before you switched to a new tab.” Tyler continued to paint Josh’s nails with precision as Josh rested his head on the bed, blushing slightly since he had been caught.

“But I wanted the purple.” He mumbled into the comforter. “And it’s a classic movie.” 

“Purple’s my color.” Tyler explained. Ever since he and his sister started painting their nails together, Tyler always stuck with purple. 

“Fine but I get to paint your nails.” Josh lifted his head to watch his boyfriend apply the last of the paint on his left hand before Josh gave him his right.

Tyler smirked. “That’s what I got the towel for. I don’t trust you to not get it all over the bed spread.”

Josh scoffed. “I have two sisters, Ty. I know how to paint nails.” When Tyler finished, they waited for the nail polish to dry while they finished watching Mean Girls, before Josh started on Tyler’s nails.

“You’re right. Purple is your color.” Josh commented as he finished Tyler’s nails. Looking over his work, Josh was surprised to find that he didn’t mess up as badly as him or Tyler expected. “Maybe with a baby blue accent, like your Mickey shirt.”

“Hm. I’ll have to pick some up next time we go to the mall. That way we can both match.” Tyler made a mental note, before looking at the mess around them. “You should clean up. I can’t exactly use these right now.” Tyler gestured to the mess on the side table and the nail polish on the bed before wiggling his fingers in front of Josh’s face.

“I thought I was the one on bed rest.” Josh complained, but moved to get up anyway. 

“Yeah, but you can still use your arms and legs at the moment. So for now I’m the one on bed rest unless you want me to paint the apartment purple.” Josh just huffed and smiled as he gave in to his boyfriend, leaning down to give him a lingering kiss before doing what he was asked. Tyler could be a pain, but he also knew how to lift Josh’s spirits and get him out of bed when he needed it the most.

* * *

Tyler had become somewhat of a messenger between Josh and his teachers while Josh was on bed rest. He would deliver notes and homework to Josh at the beginning of the week, and then bring back the finished work the next week, only to get more stuff for Josh to complete. It was tiring, but it was the only thing keeping Josh’s GPA from dropping for the semester, but luckily they only had a week left.

“So, it’s almost our one-year anniversary.” Tyler brought up one evening when they were taking a break from studying. Tyler couldn’t believe that it had been a year already, and he couldn’t believe how _domestic_ he and Josh had become. They were even talking about buying a house, and Josh was hinting at getting a kitten, since his previous cat passed away a few months after they had started dating.

“I am aware,” Josh replied, highlighting a sentence in his textbook before looking up at Tyler, resting his chin on a fist. “I’ve been trying to think of date ideas we could do from inside the apartment.”

“And how is that working out?” Tyler asked, mirroring Josh’s position on the floor.

“Well I have an idea but I want to surprise you. So you’ll just have to wait and see.” Josh smirked mischievously before getting back to studying. Tyler snorted before getting up off of the floor to get them more fuel to get through their study session.

A week later, Tyler came home from basketball practice, spent and sweaty. He had left Josh in bed before the sun had risen, taking Josh’s car up to campus for an early practice. He came back in the late morning to find the living room a mess, and Josh in the center of it all. 

Josh’s head popped up from the other side of the couch when he heard Tyler close the front door. He smiled nervously. “Hey, Ty. Didn’t think you’d be home so soon. Surprise?” Josh gestured to the what looked like every single blanket and pillow they had in the apartment piled in front of the couch and TV. 

“Should I even ask?” Tyler smiled in amusement as he dropped his gym bag and toed off his shoes before moving closer to inspect Josh’s “nest”. Josh shrugged in response before leaping over the couch to greet Tyler properly. Tyler smiled sweetly as Josh kissed him, biting at his lip playfully before moving closer and Tyler let out a small moan as Josh slid his tongue into his mouth. Tyler was about to respond but then Josh pulled back, his nose wrinkled.

“You need to shower.” He stated bluntly. Tyler just stared at him incredulously, slightly flustered and cheeks tinged pink. 

“Wow. Happy anniversary to you too.” Tyler scoffed, stepping away from Josh only to have arms wrap around his middle and kisses pressed into his neck form behind.

“Sorry,” Josh chuckled, “Happy anniversary, Ty. Go shower and then come out and help me with this, kay?” Tyler sighed and relaxed back into Josh’s chest.

“Okay, but I still don’t know what you’re planning to do with all that.” Tyler gestured back to the mess in the living room.

“It’s a surprise.” Josh whispered to the shell of Tyler’s ear, and Tyler couldn’t help the shiver that ran down his spine.

“It’s not a surprise if I’m going to be helping you.” Tyler reasoned, flushing again as Josh’s breath huffed across his neck in a laugh, and Tyler cursed the leftover adrenaline from practice that was making him so sensitive.

Josh pushed him away gently, and looking back Tyler saw the smug look on his face. Bastard knew what he was doing. “Go shower.” Tyler turned back around with determination. Two could play at that game. As he walked to the bathroom, he made sure to sway his hips just right as he stripped off his shirt. Tyler grinned back at Josh as he entered their bedroom, pleased to see his boyfriend gawking before he shut the door.

When Tyler returned from a very cold shower, the blankets and pillows in the living room had taken form into a pillow fort. Josh had dragged chairs in from the kitchen to create support for the blankets to make a roof. A soft glow came from inside the fort and as Tyler bent down to look inside, he was met with a smiling Josh on top of piles of pillows and blankets, underneath the glow of fairy lights strung on top of the chair backs.

“You sure do love your mood lighting.” Tyler joked as he climbed inside, quickly relaxing into the softness of the blankets and the warmth of his boyfriend. Tyler was surprised to see the majority of their junk food in the fort as well as cans of Redbull and Yoo-Hoo.

Josh followed his gaze to the food, smiling sheepishly at the hoard. “I wasn’t planning on getting up any time soon.” He shrugged, and Tyler reached over him to grab a Redbull.

“It’s perfect.” Tyler said as he cracked open the can, taking a big swig before cuddling back into Josh’s side. “Netflix?” Tyler questioned, seeing the remote to the TV in the fort as well. Josh nodded and turned on the TV. They watched two Disney movies before changing it up and picking a crappy horror movie that had them laughing more than jumping, although Tyler still got surprised by a few jump scares, but Josh would just pull him further into his side after, so Tyler thought it was worth it.

“Don’t go in there, idiot.” Josh muttered underneath his breath and Tyler laughed as he continued a chorus of “idiot” and “stupid, so stupid” until the character got killed. “I told you.” Josh finished, and Tyler let out a series of giggles. 

“That blood doesn’t even look real.” Tyler added, shoving more popcorn into his mouth before trying to throw a piece into Josh’s mouth as well. He missed several times and finally resorted to just feeding it to Josh instead, Josh nipping at his fingers playfully causing him to laugh even harder. 

Soon the movie was long forgotten in favor of Josh lightly sucking the salt and butter off of Tyler’s fingers, Tyler staring at the action dumbly. Josh smirked when he noticed Tyler’s expression before taking two of his fingers further into the warmth of his mouth to lick and suck. 

Tyler’s head met the blankets beneath him as Josh’s tongue circled his fingers. “You are going to kill me,” he mumbled into the floor, voice cracking as he felt his dick twitch when Josh sucked his fingers deeper into his mouth. Josh slid his fingers out with a pop and a smirk to reply.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Tyler glared up at him, before moving to grab Josh’s hair and pull him in for a kiss. Josh immediately moaned into Tyler’s mouth as his hair was pulled, and his breath was taken from him as Tyler took control of the kiss, tongue sliding into Josh’s mouth before pulling back to bite at his bottom lip.

“Shit, Ty,” Josh groaned as Tyler moved his hands into Josh’s shorts, pulling Josh’s hips closer to his by grabbing his ass.

“Shut up,” Tyler muttered halfheartedly before connecting their lips once again, Josh letting out another moan as Tyler grinded against his growing erection. His hands traveled up Josh’s back, smoothing along the warm scales and massaging beneath the base of his wings. Josh groaned into Tyler’s mouth as their lips glided together, Tyler tongue once again finding its way into Josh’s mouth before moving out to trace along his bottom lip, and then Tyler was leaving open mouthed kisses along Josh’s jaw until he reached his neck.

Josh groaned when Tyler sucked at the skin at the crook of his neck, since it was the one place he was most sensitive. His cheeks flushed as he felt Tyler move his hands lower once again to his lower back, tracing along the base of his tail before moving to grasp his hips firmly, causing Josh to buck into Tyler.

Tyler was sure to leave a mark as he licked along the expanse of Josh’s neck, stopping to bite areas he seemed fit, encouraged by Josh’s moans. He moved to roll Josh onto his back so he could slide on top of him, but was stopped by a gasp of pain. 

Tyler jumped back. “Shit, sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Tyler apologized, looking concerned at Josh who was rubbing a shoulder as he rolled back to be more on his side. 

“It’s fine, Ty. I just can’t get on my back just yet.” Josh explained, reaching out to pull Tyler back close to him.

“Sorry.” Tyler apologized again before placing a kiss on Josh forehead, nose, and cheeks before finally sliding their lips together once again. Josh smiled into the kiss as he took hold of Tyler’s hips to do what Tyler tried to do to him. Tyler easily rolled onto his back and gladly accepted Josh sliding on top of him, their hips connecting and dicks pressing against each other with more force.

They both moaned as Josh grinded down into Tyler’s lap, Tyler greedily pulling Josh’s hips down and bucking up into him to set a faster pace. Tyler could tell by the crease in Josh’s brow and how he was biting his bottom lip that he was close, and Tyler was right there beside him. He pulled Josh down closer by a firm hand on the back of his neck, the other snaking down to free their erections from their shorts.

The pair gasped as hot flesh met, Josh whining out and dropping his head onto Tyler’s shoulder as Tyler graciously licked his palm and grabbed both of them in his hand. Tyler’s other hand kneaded the back of Josh’s neck, pulling lightly at the short hair at the base before leaning to whisper in his ear.

“God, you’re so beautiful like this, Josh,” he croaked, voice breaking into a moan as he increased the pace. “You make the most beautiful face when you cum, y’know that?” Josh’s groans turned to whines as he became desperate at Tyler’s words, responding by burrowing his face into Tyler’s neck. But Tyler wouldn’t have that. He lifted Josh’s head and traced over his lips before bringing their foreheads together. “You close?” Tyler asked because he couldn’t last that much longer himself. Josh just nodded, eyes hooded as he stared into Tyler’s eyes, face flushed, and Tyler figured he looked about as wrecked himself. His motions became messy as they both fucked up into Tyler’s fist, both frantic to come. 

Tyler threaded his fingers through Josh’s hair. “C’mon, J. Show me how beautiful you are,” Tyler whispered with a groan, hand tugging on the pink strands and then Josh was moaning loudly, jaw slack as he came in Tyler’s hand and on his stomach. Tyler followed shortly after with a moan of his own, panting as Josh rolled onto his side next to Tyler, waiting for them to both come down. He realized a little late that the roof of their fort now covered them. Josh’s wings must’ve splayed out enough to slip the blanket down. 

Tyler giggled at the thought of Josh’s wings fanning out as he came, turning to face Josh who looked like he was figuring out the same thing. Tyler moved closer, pressing their lips softly together and running a comforting hand through Josh’s hair. It wasn’t often that they got to do this, since Josh was often self-conscious about his body, and Tyler was relieved to find a content smile on Josh’s lips.

“Happy anniversary, Ty.” Josh said softly, eyes tracing over Tyler’s face fondly. 

“Happy anniversary, J.” Tyler responded with a beaming smile, pressing another kiss to Josh’s forehead.

It took a while to clean up after that, and it wasn’t until nighttime that they decide to exchange their presents after Tyler had gone out to get dinner. Josh ate his pizza anxiously, because Josh could pretty much do anything anxiously, but Tyler made sure to sit close to him and try to calm his nerves a bit. 

“It’s just that I’ve been stuck in the apartment and I couldn’t exactly get you the present I wanted to.” Josh mumbled, his gaze moving between the empty pizza box and their intertwined fingers. 

“Josh, I already have the best present you could ever give me.” Josh’s brow wrinkled in confusion before realization washed over his face.

“Oh.” Josh stated simply, now starting even more harshly at the pizza box as his face flushed pink. Tyler just snorted in amusement and kissed Josh’s cheek before getting up from the couch to fetch Josh’s present.

“Close your eyes,” Tyler shouted from the other end of the apartment, rummaging around in the storage closet. Josh obeyed, nervously toying with the fraying seem of his shirt. He could hear Tyler come back a minute later, and jumped when he felt a small weight being place on his lap. “Okay, you can open them.”

Josh opened his eyes to find a black kitten on his lap, batting at the fraying thread of the shirt between his fingers. Josh felt tears well up in his wide eyes at his stared at the playful kitten that was now jumping onto Josh’s hands and biting at his fingers. Josh picked the kitten up gently and let out a laugh as he meowed and continued to teethe on Josh’s thumb. Josh beamed up at Tyler who was standing in front of him with a nervous smile on his face.

“I can’t even-,” Josh started before shaking his head, cradling the kitten to his chest. “Thank you.” Tyler relaxed and sat down, content to watch Josh play with the lively animal. “How did you even sneak a kitten in here?" 

“I got him a few days ago. Had him at Jenna’s and picked him up when I went and got pizza.” Tyler put out his finger and laughed when the kitten pounced at it. “What are you gunna name him?”

Josh was silent for a few moments, intently watching the kitten that was wrapped around his hand, teething on his fingers. Josh smiled when a name came to him for the black kitten.

“Toothless.”

They played with Toothless for hours until the little kitten got tired and had to be put back in his crate for a nap. Josh and Tyler set off to kitten proof the house and set up the litter boxes Josh had from his old cat. A water dish and a food bowl were set out in the kitchen, and Josh smiled as he put the cat tree back in the corner of the living room where it belonged.

Josh wrung his fingers nervously as they sat back down on the couch. He was nervous about his present, especially now that Tyler went and got them a freaking kitten. How was he supposed to beat that? Josh eventually took a deep breath and stood up, making his way to the bedroom, and returning a minute later with a pile of blankets and knickknacks in his arms.

Tyler’s eyes widened when he realized what it was. “Your treasures?” He questioned with a smile as Josh set down the pile in front of him on the couch before taking a seat again. Josh had always said that one day he would sit down and show Tyler everything that was in the pile, but he never got around to it. Tyler reached down to pull out something from the pile, but looked at Josh for confirmation. “Can I?”

Josh just nodded and rubbed the back of his neck timidly as Tyler picked up a shirt.

“That’s my soccer jersey from high school,” Josh explained, voice still shy. Tyler smiled as he saw Josh’s name on the back of the colorful jersey, carefully setting it aside before picking up something else. 

“The stuffed rabbit I used to take everywhere as a kid.” Josh smiled fondly, reaching out to take the toy from Tyler. He put it aside and reached down to take a snapback from the pile, pulling it over Tyler’s head.

“I used to go to concerts and hang around afterward to get the members to sign it for me.” Josh explained as Tyler took it off and looked at all of the signatures. Josh moved to grab more things from the pile, showing them to Tyler before putting them aside. “First pair of drumsticks,” (That were held together by duck tape), “Band tee that I wore like every day in middle school. Scully’s collar. Baseball my dad gave to me. Blanket my grandma knitted. And uh-” Josh faulted with a blush before continuing, “my baby blanket.” Tyler took the soft blanket from Josh and smoothed out on his lap before hugging it to his chest. 

“This is amazing,” Tyler marveled, eyeing the pile and the shoebox Josh was now pulling onto his lap. He opened it with care and moved closer to show Tyler its contents. Inside were old photographs of Josh’s family, a perfume bottle that Josh said was his mother’s, and a bunch of guitar picks. Tyler moved to pick up a one of the several pieces of paper that were in the box, unfolding it to find his handwriting. It was a note from a month ago that Tyler left for Josh while he was still asleep and needed to head out to basketball practice.

Josh rubbed his neck again anxiously. “I’ve uh, kept your notes and a few of your pens.” Josh lifted another note out of the box, just a simple “ _Have a great day! xx Ty_ ” on a sticky note that Tyler left on the fridge for him one morning after a particularly bad night. Tyler smiled warmly, heart fluttering in his chest at the fact that Josh kept all of his notes, even one that said _“You deserved it, asshole ;)”_ that Tyler left after he had been rude to Jenna and she had taken up her threat of singing Josh into the lake on campus.

Tyler put back the notes and eyed the pens that littered the box. He had wondered why his pens had kept disappearing. Tyler then saw something that caught his eye, and picked up the shiny black diamond from the edge of the box. He turned it over the smooth object in his hand as Josh explained.

“Oh. That’s a scale from one of my first molts. It came loose and I freaked out thinking that all of my scales would fall out,” Josh laughed at the memory, picking up another lighter colored scale he had in the box. 

“You molt?” Tyler questioned, eyeing Josh’s wings. “Like a snake?”

“More like a lizard. New scales grow, old ones fall out. They kinda shed their skin and it always itches like hell.” Josh shrugged, putting the scales back in the box. “It happens when my wings or I grow, but since neither haven’t happened in a long time, I haven’t had the need to molt.”

Josh changed the subject by giving Tyler a long feather, one that looked like it belonged to a falcon that would have to be five feet tall. “Debby used to give me her flight feathers that fell out as gifts for helping her preen her wings.”

“I’m sure Toothless would love these,” Tyler commented as he twirled the feather around his fingers. Josh let out a loud laugh, eyes creasing as he smiled. 

“I’m sure Debby would love to know we were using her feathers as cat toys.”

They carefully put everything away back in its place at the bottom of the closet, Josh moving the stuffed Toothless back to his perch on top of the pile. He turned around to find Tyler throwing his arms around him, mindful of his wings, and head moving to rest on his shoulder.

“Thank you for sharing this with me. It was a wonderful present.” Tyler murmured into Josh’s neck, and Josh eventually relaxed and hugged Tyler back. 

“No problem, Ty.” Josh smiled into Tyler’s neck, taking in his comforting scent of what he could only describe as spicy watermelon and sandalwood from his deodorant and shampoo.

Josh didn’t have much experience on anniversaries. Hell, this was his only relationship that ever lasted a year. But Josh was pretty sure that this was how anniversaries were supposed to go, and he could safely say that this was the best one that he had ever had, and one of the best days he had ever spent with Tyler. Josh’s chest tightened at the thought of living the rest of his life with Tyler. Buying their first house, having kids, growing old. Josh was petrified. But he already gave Tyler his heart long ago, and he would gladly give his life to spend the rest of it with the boy he loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me and Abby aka [slashfanatic22](http://archiveofourown.org/users/slashfanatic22) spent over an hour at 3am talking about sexy things about Josh and that is pretty much the only reason there's smut in this chapter. We also agreed that it would be hot if he liked his hair pulled and made a lot of noise in the bedroom. So go thank her for that.
> 
> Also I'm writing a Joshler Mad Max AU fic that I posted the first chapter of already, and I'm going back and forth between this and that. Because while I love this story, I'm also a sucker for dystopians.
> 
>  
> 
> [Tumblr](http://summerdownturn.tumblr.com)


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler gets the scare of a lifetime, and then they celebrate the New Year with alcohol, sewing, cupcakes, and friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this makes sense. I had the hardest time getting my ideas out of my head and onto the page. Also again with the theme of angst and then fluff. Please enjoy!
> 
> **Trigger warning:** Brief mention of suicide. Also there is blood and hospitals.

Josh and Tyler’s winter break quickly developed from lazy cuddles in bed to trips to varying doctors’ offices once Josh was approved to have his splints removed from his wings. Josh had to go to physical therapy three times a week to build back the muscles in his wings, back, and shoulders that he had neglected for the past few years. It was hard for Tyler to see his boyfriend do simple stretches and end up wincing in discomfort.

Josh also had to see a counselor once a week. This, Josh was not happy about. Josh was not a fan of talking about his insecurities and anxieties, especially not to someone he just met. But Tyler and his doctor agreed that it would help, so Josh decided to give it a try.

The lady was nice and listened closely when he answered her questions, but Josh kept glancing at her notepad uneasily when she would write down notes. Her tone was nonjudgmental and seemed to coax the words out of him by the end of their sessions, a nice weight lifted off of his chest. But when he got home, all Josh felt was bitter, and immediately went to his drums.

Tyler knew better than to disturb Josh when he was upset like this, since all he usually needed to make him feel better was to beat his drums for a few hours. So Tyler used the rhythms Josh pounded out to write music himself in the living room, since it was hard to do anything else with the drumbeats coming from their bedroom, even with the muting pads on so the neighbors wouldn’t complain about the noise.

So Tyler was a little worried when he could hear Josh’s drums being played from the staircase one floor below their apartment. Tyler’s gut sank with a feeling that something was _wrong_. He hurried up to their floor when the drumming took a pause, only to be met with a door slam and Mr. Redford scurrying hurriedly away from their door and back into his apartment down the hall. The drumming continued again as Tyler jogged down the hallway to reach their apartment, his stomach twisting in worry.

The sound was ridiculously loud when Tyler swung their front door open, and the first thing Tyler registered as he entered was red staining the doorframe. Tyler poked at it with a finger to find it wet, his fingers now stained red as well. He looked down to find droplets littering the floor, and it took way too long for his brain to process what it was. A terrifying chill ran throughout his body, limbs tingling, as he called out for Josh.

“Josh!” Tyler yelled again, running into their room to find the other still pounding harshly on the drums, more of the red splattered on his chest and running up his right arm. Tyler panicked. “Josh! Josh, stop!” Tyler tried to scream over the drums, running towards the drum set and reaching out to try and stop his boyfriend’s flailing arms. “ _Josh!_ ”

The drumsticks clattered onto the floor, and the room went silent except for Josh’s harsh breaths. His face was red and sweaty, his eyes pained, and brow furrowed. Tyler had never seen him look so upset. But Tyler was rather distracted by the blood pouring out from Josh’s right hand.

Rather than saying anything, Tyler just pulled Josh into the bathroom, sitting him down on the toilet seat and fluttering around hastily to find the first aid kit and a washcloth. Tyler returned back to Josh to look him over, but the only place he was bleeding from was the gash in his hand. Tyler cleaned up around the wound as best as he could, noticing that both his and Josh’s hands were trembling. Tyler pressed gauze to the cut and looked Josh over again.

This time Tyler noticed Josh’s whole body was trembling. Tyler soothed a hand through Josh’s hair with bloodstained fingers, hand eventually running down to grasp his neck to pull Josh into his shoulder. Tyler still didn’t say anything when he felt his neck start to get wet, or when Josh’s exhales came out as long wheezes. Tyler just pulled Josh closer and rocked him back and forth, trying to bring him out of his anxiety attack.

It took a while for Josh to calm down, and Tyler only pulled back when he realized that the pad of gauze was thoroughly soaked through with blood. The wound was deep, and wouldn’t stop bleeding on its own.

“How’d you manage this?” Tyler said in the calmest tone he could muster, grabbing more gauze and tape to patch Josh up so he wouldn’t bleed all over his car on their way to the hospital. Tyler figured that his mental state was the reason why Josh wasn’t healing as quickly as he would’ve been on a good day.

Josh shrugged, looking embarrassed. “Must’ve cut it on a cymbal,” he mumbled. “Didn’t even notice it.”

Tyler didn’t want to know the headspace Josh was in if he couldn’t even figure out that he had hurt himself and was bleeding all over his drum set. Tyler swallowed hard and nodded, quickly wiping the blood that had spattered on Josh’s torso off. He would hate to see the state his drums were in if there was enough blood to ricochet off of a drumhead.

Tyler gathered Josh and herded him back to the bedroom, sitting him down on the bed and dressing him in one of his oversized hoodies that fit easily over his wings. It seemed both of them were in a daze, Josh staring down meekly at his lap as he allowed Tyler to move him as he pleased, while Tyler solely focused on getting Josh to the hospital because he couldn’t handle his mind wandering at the moment.

They were out the door and in the car moments later. The car ride was relatively short, but Tyler felt like he was going to implode on himself. There was only so long he could thrive on panic and adrenaline before he was bound to break down. For Josh’s sake, he was trying to keep it together. 

But despite how panicked he was still, Tyler managed to get Josh into the ER rather calmly, checking him in and talking for him when the nurse asked him questions as she checked his vitals. She eyed Tyler for a moment when he answered instead of Josh, but once she realized Josh looked like he didn’t hear her and was on a whole other planet, she started asking Tyler the questions instead.

Soon enough they were being ushered into a room, thankfully the ER wasn’t crowded, where they waited for a doctor to give Josh sutures.

The atmosphere was tense, and Tyler couldn’t do anything about it. They both hated hospitals, and if either of them broke the silence, Tyler was sure he would break as well.

A quite too happy doctor was in fifteen minutes later, quickly disinfecting and examining Josh’s wound before he decided Josh just needed stitches. Tyler took Josh’s free hand in his as the doctor proceeded to numb and stitch up Josh’s hand, Tyler grimacing at the pulling skin.

It took a while for Josh to get all stitch up, the doctor counting about twenty sutures running across the side and back of his hand before covering them in a fresh bandage. Tyler was still in wonder at how Josh could cut his hand that badly on a cymbal and not even notice it. After that they were free to go, walking out to the car as the sun was setting.

The air in the car on the ride home was tenser than in the hospital room, and Tyler could feel himself tearing apart at the seams. The walk up to the apartment was slow and tired, and Tyler headed immediately for the couch when they walked through the door. He put his head in his hands and it took less than a minute for him to break, tears flowing freely down his face. Soon he was hiccupping with sobs as he replayed the event over and over in his head. The blood on the floor. The blood all over Josh. The thought that Josh had done this on purpose, had a bad therapy session that brought up too many negative feelings and he decided to slit his wrists and go out doing what he loves. What would he have done if he found Josh too late? With so much more blood? The image haunted him. Tyler didn’t think he could live through that.

Tyler felt arms wrap around his waist and a head nestle into his side and he sobbed louder. It took several moments before he settled down, his tears running silent as he grasped onto Josh’s arms tightly.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again, Joshua Dun.” His voice came out hoarse but stern. “I don’t... I-I can’t-,” but Tyler was hiccupping again, and he distracted himself by wiping the tears off of his face.

“I know. I’m sorry. Never again, Ty. I’m so sorry.” Josh kept repeating into Tyler’s side, dampening his shirt with tears of his own. 

“Promise me.” Tyler sniffled and shifted his position, moving his hands to cradle Josh’s head in his lap, making sure their eyes connected.

“I promise, Ty. Never again. I love you. I’m sorry.”

Tyler leaned down for an awkward kiss, Josh continuing to repeat _‘I love you’_ and _‘I’m sorry’_ with every breath because he had never meant for his stupid anger and emotions to hurt Tyler in any way possible. He just needed to escape his head for a moment after a therapy session that was too intense and touched one too many sensitive subjects. He came home needing to hear the crash of the cymbals and feel the vibration of the beat course through his body. But throughout all of this, dealing with his doubts, his anxieties, and his insecurities, the last thing Josh ever wanted to do was to hurt Tyler, and somehow he managed to fuck that up. He wasn’t sure he could ever forgive himself, because in his eyes that was the ultimate sin. Hurting the one you loved most.

They ignored the messed up bedroom in favor of the couch, both drifting off into a restless sleep, completely entangled in one another. More conversations and clean up would be done tomorrow, but for now they were both exhausted, neither caring enough to strip out of their clothes, only caring about being close to each other, both of them too scared of losing the other.

* * *

Josh’s wings were slowly gaining muscle after a few weeks of therapy, and it was getting harder for him fold them down enough beneath his shirts as his new muscles wanted to splay them out instead. After ending up with several stretched out shirts, Tyler decided to get the girls over on New Year’s Eve to deal with Josh’s newest problem.

Jenna had brought over several snacks for them to munch on, while Debby made sure to bring over several bottles of liquor because she knew Josh and Tyler didn’t keep any in the apartment, and they were going to bring in the New Year right. Debby and Josh were quick to make their drinks, while Tyler and Jenna decided to bake in the kitchen, because Tyler had been wanting to make some cupcakes for a while and he needed friends to enjoy them with.

While the cupcakes were in the oven, Tyler went into their room to grab pretty much all of Josh’s shirts and then dumped them in the middle of the living room in front of everyone. He had called Josh’s mother a few days prior to figure out what he needed to alter the shirts, and then had bought the supplies needed, which basically included a whole bunch of different colored thread and zippers. They also had Debby to assist them, and Josh made sure that she would be getting his favorite shirts since she had experience altering all of her own shirts.

“You have a lot of clothes, Josh.” Jenna commented at the pile in front of them, and Josh responded by doing a shot of tequila with a grimace and shrugging.

“I don’t get rid of things easily.”

Debby got the party going by turning on some music rather loudly and instructing them on how to get started, after Tyler ran into the kitchen when the timer on the oven beeped for the cupcakes.

Basically they were just cutting a U-shape in the back of the shirts so Josh’s wings could slip through easily, and then reconnecting the bottom of the cut with a zipper so his back wasn’t exposed. They set up a system where Debby would get Josh’s favorite shirts, and Tyler would cut the rest, while Josh and Jenna sewed the zippers on because they had more experience sewing than Tyler did.

After a few drinks, Tyler was getting really into it, poking his tongue out in concentration and vigilantly cutting the fabric with as much precision as an inebriated Tyler could muster. Josh silently cursed beside him, as every time he seemed to have another shot of tequila, the more he would poke his fingers with the needle, which Jenna found hilarious. Meanwhile, Debby was studiously cutting and sewing her shirts, sipping on her own cocktail and lightly scolding a fighting Josh and Jenna who both got preoccupied throwing the fabric at each other rather than altering it. Tyler then ostracized them to the kitchen to frost the cooled cupcakes.

Not even five minutes later, there was a yelp and then a barking laugh from the kitchen.

“Jenna!” Josh protested as he tried to comb the frosting out of his hair.

Tyler looked over to see Josh painting a glob of icing on Jenna’s cheek, and then there was icing _everywhere_. Debby and Tyler quickly got up (okay, Tyler more like stumbled around after gaining his balance first) to separate the two and save the rest of the frosting. The battle only ended when there was a shriek from Debby who had somehow managed to get frosting in her feathers. Everyone looked terrified at the angry harpy, and Debby’s wings bristled in irritation as she examined the damage. Josh and Jenna were pretty much covered, sheepishly looking at Debby, while Tyler had frosting spread across his face and shirt and couldn’t help but giggle at the state of the kitchen.

“You’re helping me get this out, Dun.” Debby growled, feeling another spot of frosting in some feathers she couldn’t reach. 

“Well at least you managed to get frosting on some of the cupcakes,” Tyler commented through a mouth full of cake, humming in content and licking the frosting off of his fingers and lips when he was done. Josh stared at him lustfully as he did so, Tyler blissfully unaware, but Debby just groaned in disgust and pulled Josh away to the living room before he could do anything.

They set about cleaning each other off while Jenna and Tyler cleaned the kitchen (but really they were just eating the cupcakes). Debby got Josh a damp washcloth, and sat down in front of him on the floor so he could clean her wings. Josh rather difficultly found the spots of frosting that Debby had gotten in the crossfire and carefully swiped the icing from her feathers. Once that was done, they got into a rather familiar routine of preening each other’s wings, Debby sighing contently as Josh ran his fingers through her feathers, cleaning them of dirt and removing any molting feathers.

Once Debby was done, Jenna and Tyler were back to working on the shirts, and Josh was about to join them, but Debby stopped him short.

“Nuh-uh, Josh. When was the last time I preened your wings? C’mon, switch places with me.” Josh was about to protest, but Debby shot him a look that he knew better than to challenge. He reluctantly took off his shirt and sat down in front of Debby and watched Jenna and Tyler work.

Josh’s wings couldn’t really be preened, at least not like Debby’s could. He didn’t have any feathers that he had to straighten, and any dirt that collected on his scales was easily washed away in the shower. But it was a part of Debby’s nature to care for her winged friend, and preening was one of the easiest and most primal ways to do that.

Debby ran the washcloth over Josh’s scales, picking up any stray icing along the way. Josh picked up a shirt he was sewing before and started on it again, just to distract himself from someone touching his wings. He was rather uncomfortable at first, but it brought back memories when they were kids and would preen each other every time they were together, and Josh had to swallow the guilt that welled up when he remembered that he had been the reason that all had stopped.

Debby’s touch was gentle, and she carefully unfolded and wiped down both of his wings, tenderly cleaning the sensitive leathery skin of the inside of Josh’s wings. The rhythmic motions of Debby’s preening slowly caused Josh to relax, casually leaning into her touch. He ignored Jenna and Tyler’s conversation to instead focus on the warm feeling growing in his chest that Josh could tell wasn’t the alcohol. He stopped his sewing and closed his eyes as he savored Debby’s touch.

He mentally followed her hands as they traveled over his back, looking for damaged or loose scales, and then followed them over the back of his wings, and finally she went up to his shoulders and neck, where she rested her palms.

“It looks like you’re starting to molt,” she said softly, running her fingers over some dried up skin cracking from the small pink scales at the base of his neck. Josh lifted a hand to see what she was talking about, and was surprised when he felt the dried scales.

“That’s gunna start itching like hell soon.”

Debby laughed quietly and circled her arms around Josh’s neck, tugging him back into a hug. “It means you’re healing. Your wings are growing. I’m so proud of you.” She said the last part softly into his ear, and Josh felt the warmth in his chest spread throughout his body. He would just blame it on the alcohol.

Debby let him go after that, going back to work on finishing up the rest of Josh’s favorite shirts so he would have something to wear. Josh sat back for a moment, the warm feeling not going away. It felt nice, to be surrounded by friends. To have Debby preen him again. To mess around with Jenna without fear that she would sing him to his death. To look at Tyler and feel the warmth in his body grow even impossibly hotter as he watched Jenna instruct him how to sew.

Tyler caught him staring a few minutes later, smiling happily in return before scrunching his face up in a weird expression, and then smirking and leaning over to Josh. Josh was startled when he felt Tyler’s tongue swipe up his cheek, laughing uneasily as Tyler leaned away and licked his lips.

“What was that?”

“You missed a spot.” Tyler said simply, going back to his work like he hadn’t just licked frosting off of his boyfriend’s face. Josh just stared at him in wonder before glancing over at the girls to find them both smiling at him compassionately before going back to work. He wasn’t sure what to make of that, but before he could think any further, an alarm rang out and Debby squealed. 

“It’s a minute to midnight!” Jenna quickly turned on the TV and changed the channel so they could watch the ball drop to bring in the New Year. Josh pulled Tyler close, preferring to stare at Tyler rather than the television. Tyler was excitedly watching the screen, grasping onto Josh’s hands as they started to count down. 

“Thirty, twenty-nine…”

Josh pulled Tyler into his lap, resting his chin on his shoulder. 

“Twenty, nineteen…”

Josh smiled into the crook of Tyler’s neck and intertwined their fingers.

“Ten, nine…”

Josh started to press soft kisses up Tyler’s neck along with the countdown.

“One…” 

Josh turned Tyler’s head and pressed their lips together, smiling as Tyler laughed into the kiss.

“Happy New Year, Ty.” Josh pulled back to say, and Tyler responded with a more heated kiss, forcefully deepening it by sliding his tongue into Josh’s mouth and moving to straddle Josh’s waist for a better angle. Josh moaned as Tyler took over, their noses brushing as Tyler’s hands found a grip in Josh’s hair while Josh’s hands rested comfortingly on Tyler’s hips, both pulling each other in closer.

When Tyler pulled back to take a breath, Josh felt all the air leave his lungs as he looked at his disheveled boyfriend. But the alcohol had made their heads fuzzy and tired, so Josh disappointedly pushed Tyler from his lap and into an embrace instead.

Tyler quickly changed from lustful to exhausted, leaning heavily onto Josh as he started moving them to the bedroom. But he stopped short when he caught sight of Debby and Jenna playfully kissing each other on the couch. Josh blushed fiercely at the sight of them kissing and cleared his throat to interrupt them.

They pulled apart and Josh was taken aback by the glare that Debby sent him. But then Tyler chose to speak up.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, Jenna,” he giggled, pecking Josh on the cheek, which made Josh even redder as Jenna and Debby laughed with him. 

“Oh my god, please don’t have sex on our couch.” Josh pleaded, adjusting Tyler who was leaning rather heavily on him.

“I’m pretty sure Tyler would have sex with you on the couch,” Jenna chuckled mockingly.

“Oh my god,” Josh stated again, choosing to ignore her comment in favor of dragging Tyler and himself into their bedroom, making sure to close the door behind them. Josh got them ready for bed, tiredly undressing the both of them, as Tyler was nearly asleep already. And then Josh curled around Tyler beneath the sheets, pulling him tightly to his chest.

“Thank you,” Josh mumbled into Tyler’s skin, slowly drifting off to sleep himself. Tyler hummed and grabbed Josh’s hand, running his thumb softly over his skin, and only when Tyler’s motions stopped did Josh speak again as his mind fogged into a heavy sleep.

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there will only be one more chapter after this. But if you want more feel free to discuss any headcanons you have for dragon!Josh with me! I really don't want this series to end, even if its just oneshots. But next chapter will be the last for this part. 
> 
> Thank you so much for the comments and kudos!
> 
>  
> 
> [Tumblr](http://summerdownturn.tumblr.com)


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh gets more confident, and also a massage, while Tyler plays the housewife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whatttttt is this an update??? Sorry if this feels different from the rest of the fic. It's been so long since I worked on this! Also I'm adding a chapter since I wanted to get something up so it doesn't feel abandoned. I have an end planned!

Josh had forgotten how much of a bitch molting was. He was constantly itching and having to rub against door frames and even the couch because it was a constant annoyance that wouldn’t go away. Tyler wasn’t too happy either, since he was the one that was cleaning up all of the dead scales that Josh trailed behind him. But Tyler couldn’t complain, because he noticed how healthier Josh’s new scales seemed to be. They were lighter in color, the black on his wings peeling away to reveal a maroon color with black scales speckled in.

Physical therapy was also a bitch. Josh would drive himself three days a week, only to be tortured for an hour as the physical therapist stretched and massaged his wings and muscles until he usually cried out in pain. But Josh wouldn’t complain because after the pain came a looseness that he hadn’t felt in a long time, and that alone was worth it. It felt good to stretch his wings. He had exercises to do at the office and also at home, and they often left him exhausted and sweaty. Doing wings lifts was not fun. Especially when it got to the point where his physical therapist added weights into the equation. 

But Josh was catching himself in the bathroom mirror more often than ignoring his reflection, flexing his wings and smiling that he could actually _move_ them.

“I’m really liking this whole narcissism thing you’ve started to develop,” Tyler told him one day, casually watching him flex from the doorway. Josh may have let out more of a squeal than a scream, but he quickly flattened his wings as much as he could and turned toward his boyfriend with a blush.

“S-Shut up, Ty” Josh fumbled, hugging himself in embarrassment, not finding the words for a comeback.

“Sorry, J,” Tyler smiled, coming closer. He put his arms around Josh and held his palms against his leathery wings, stroking them lightly causing Josh to shiver. “I’m glad you’re starting to like them. I’m so proud of you.” Josh blushed harder when Tyler leaned in to give him a kiss. “You’ve worked through so much shit and I couldn’t be any luckier to be in love with someone as strong as you.”

“Stop it,” Josh shied away, but Tyler brought him back into his embrace. 

“No, you stop it. I am so proud of you, Joshua William Dun, and I’m going to make sure the whole world knows it!” Tyler laughed before kissing Josh’s flaming red cheeks, and then stepped back. “But if you want me to stop…”

Josh moved his hand up to his neck and looked at the floor in embarrassment. “Well you don’t have to stop _everything_ ,” Josh suggested, quite liking all the attention his boyfriend was giving him.

“Well then turn around and I’ll show you just how beautiful you really are,” Tyler said mischievously, moving his hands to Josh’s hips and playing with the waistband of his sweats.

Check bathroom counter off of the sex bucket list.

* * *

It took a while for Josh to get used to his wings again. Physical therapy was helping him be able to move them again and lessening the pain of the now healed fractures in his wings, but Josh wasn’t used to having the two appendages out.

It started when his wings begun to gather back muscle and weren’t laying as flat. It was annoying at first, knocking his wings into doorframes, accidentally hitting Tyler in the face, and stretching out his favorite shirts before he got them altered. Then it became frustrating, knocking coffee mugs off of the kitchen counter, swiping customers’ orders out of his coworker’s hands, and not being able to sit comfortably for weeks. Now that his wings were allowed to stretch out, they didn’t want to fold out of the way.

“It’s like they have a mind of their own,” He told Tyler one day. Josh was trying to get into at least a hoodie since it was freezing outside, but his wings wouldn’t cooperate. He would hate to ruin his hoodies and jackets by altering them, and before he could just easily slip his wings into them. But that seems to have changed. 

“You just gotta relax, J.” Tyler commented, trying to calm down his frustrated boyfriend before he started huffing smoke all over the place. Which Tyler thought was really cute but it was really inconvenient when Josh would set off the smoke alarm.

“I am relaxed,” Josh muttered, still struggling to put on his hoodie.

“Come ‘ere,” Tyler motioned Josh over to the side of the bed, and Josh sulked over to his patient boyfriend. Tyler pecked a quick kiss on Josh’s forehead before stepping aside and shoving him down on the bed.

“Wha-,” Josh’s voice was muffled as his face hit the comforter, but before he could get up, a heavy weight was on his back. Tyler struggled to get Josh’s shirt off as he straddled his waist, and let out a cheer when he succeeded. “Ty, last time we did it this way, you ended up getting a wing to the face and a black eye.”

“What? No! We’re not doing _that_!” Tyler huffed as he sat back to look at Josh spread out underneath him. “I’m making you relax,” he muttered as he ran hand down Josh’s wing, maneuvering both of them so they were somewhat out of his way.

“Oh. Well, we _could_ do that…” Josh suggested and Tyler could hear the smirk in his voice. Tyler blushed and shook his head to clear it.

“We don’t have time…” Tyler splayed his hands out on Josh’s sides before running them up to the base of his wings. “Maybe later,” he mumbled, before saying more clearly, “You need to relax.”

Josh hummed as Tyler continued to move his hands up and down Josh’s back, kneading at the tense muscles at the base of his wings. Eventually, Josh was like putty, and when Tyler thought he was nearing sleep, he moved towards his wings. Taking one in hand, he moved to stretch it out, keeping one hand at the base to feel the stretch. Josh grunted as he did this, but soon relaxed after a few more attempts. Tyler did the same to the other wing, and then instead of stretching them out, he moved to fold them in. 

“Just relax,” he whispered to a sleepy Josh as he folded one wing down and then its twin. He smoothed them down with soft hands still slowly kneading at the sensitive scales. Tyler leaned back with a smile, watching as the wings stayed where he put them. “All done.”

Josh let out a yawn as he got up off the bed before looking at his folded wings. He relaxed his shoulders and spread his wings out droopily before folding them back again. “You’re the best,” Josh mumbled into Tyler’s hair as he enveloped his boyfriend in a hug.

“Yeah, yeah, now get dressed. You don’t wanna be late.” Josh pulled away and easily slipped on his shirt, his wings moving gracefully through the hole in the back. Tyler picked up his hoodie and held it out for Josh to take, and Josh folded his wings and easily slipped it on, even putting on his coat as well for added warmth.

“Thank you.” Josh’s smile lit up the entire room as he leaned in to kiss Tyler again, before moving to leave the apartment and head to class.

* * *

Tyler worries a lot. He worries if he forgot to lock the door, he worries if he left the stove on, he worries he forgot his homework, and he worries about Josh, probably more than the previous three combined. But Josh has been doing better. So that leaves less things for him to worry about. Except the fact that he hardly sees his boyfriend any more.

But that is to be expected. Josh is still in physical therapy and counseling, and on top of that it’s Josh’s last semester at Ohio State and he is set to graduate in less than a month. Add two jobs into that equation and Tyler isn’t sure how he does it. So if Tyler is worried about anything, he hides it. Because Josh seems like he has everything all figured out.

Tyler does all that he can to help with Josh’s busy schedule. He makes sure the apartment is somewhat clean, makes sure Josh has eaten at least something substantial that day (he even makes Josh lunches with cute little notes written on the napkin), and most importantly he makes sure Toothless is looked after. The little kitten has been attention starved since Josh has only been home to sleep off a busy day.

Tyler didn’t mind taking care of his boy, but he was starting to really miss Josh. So when Josh starts a conversation a half hour after he is usually asleep, Tyler is a little surprised.

“Sorry I’ve been gone so much, Ty.” Josh sounds exhausted, and Tyler looks over to find that Josh has his eyes closed, but there’s a crease in his brow that tells Tyler that he’s stressed.

“It’s okay, J. You got a lot on your plate. I’m here if you need anything though.” Tyler curled around Josh, running his hand up and down his side in comfort, letting Josh know that he was okay, but also not wanting to let go of him for as long as possible.

“No, it’s not okay,” Josh opened his eyes and continued, “I never get to see you anymore and I hate it. I miss you so much. School is hectic, I’m graduating in two weeks and I’m still not sure if I want to find a job or go to grad school. I have work and physical therapy and now my therapist wants me to go to group counseling on top of all of that.”

“What kind of group counseling?” Tyler asked, smoothing a hand through Josh’s hair. It was faded and needed to be re-dyed.

Josh shrugged and started picking at the seam of Tyler’s night shirt. “Just a support group for hybrids with body dysmorphia.”

“That sounds like something that would really help you, though.”

“Yeah, I know I’m just having trouble fitting it into my schedule.” Josh shrugged it off again. “It’s no big deal. I just need to focus on graduating.”

“Yeah, graduating is nice, Josh, but your health should always come first. Maybe you can move some things around to make room? If you really want to go that is.” Tyler suggested. Josh stayed quiet for a while, still picking at Tyler’s fraying shirt. He sighed before he replied.

“Yeah, I could do that. I… I think it’ll help. Taking to people that are like me. I could talk to my therapist about going to group therapy for a few weeks instead of one on one. Just until I graduate.” Josh finally looks back up at Tyler, eyes a little less worried now that he had a plan.

“That sounds like a good idea. You’re so close to graduation. I’m so proud of you.” Tyler mumbled sleepily, his eyes blurry with sleep and trying not to close. It was almost 3 in the morning after all. Josh moved forward to kiss his forehead before snuggling Tyler into his chest.

“Go to sleep, Ty.” Josh said softly, stroking Tyler’s hair to lull him to sleep. Tyler hummed his agreement before snaking his arms around Josh’s waist. Within minutes, Tyler’s breath evened out and soon Josh’s followed.

Josh woke up a few hours later, his phone alarm going off just loud enough for him to hear it, but soft enough to not wake up Tyler. He showered, ate breakfast, fed the cat and then left for the animal shelter. Josh only had enough time to feed the animals, clean the front counter, and make small talk with Hayley before he had to leave for class. Luckily his classes were all review, so that was most of his study time for the day. Today was a physical therapy day, so he arrived at his appointment around 3 in the afternoon. Josh finished an hour later, and barely had time to go home, shower, eat dinner that Tyler had prepared for them, and then he was back out to the coffee shop, where he used his breaks to study and text Tyler.

Josh didn’t get home until 1 in the morning, and then he collected a sleepy Tyler from off of the living room couch (Josh insisted that Tyler not wait up for him, but he still came home to Tyler awake and waiting), and they went to bed, both of them only falling asleep once they were comfortable in each other’s arms.

The next day, Josh did it all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please yell at me to finish this and other fic on tumblr (summerdownturn) and in the comments <3


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh and Tyler get a new family member, Josh learns how to fly, and has something important to ask of Tyler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for sticking through to read this. I hope this lived up to all of your expectations. I may make more in this series but it would be one shot prompts from you guys, so please give me all of your headcanons so I can write more fluff, or angst, or smut ;3

Josh graduated in the top five of his class. His family came from all over Ohio to watch him walk across the stage to get his degree. His mom cried when she saw his wings sticking out of his altered gown, and his dad proudly patted him on the back. His siblings all hugged him and told him how proud they are, and Tyler, Debby, and Jenna stood off to the side in support. Josh swore he saw them all crying at some point throughout the night.

They scheduled the party a week from graduation, and Josh was just happy to relax. Although instead of relaxing, he spent that week searching for a job. He decided to put off grad school until he was more comfortable in his field and with himself, and luckily he got an interview at a veterinarian hospital five minutes away from the animal shelter, and they gladly take him in. The head doctor was also a fauna, and Josh spent the rest of the week under his charge. Like he expected, the reptiles loved him, gladly laying on his furnace like skin for warmth. The head vet, Doctor Stump, took time to introduce him to the mammals, since they were more wary of Josh being a predator than the deer fauna next to him.

Josh never had a problem with cats before, but that was maybe because both of his cats he has had in his life had been around him since they were kittens. They viewed Josh as more as a personal body warmer than a predator. But the cats and dogs at the vet didn’t know that, and since most of them were sick and protective, they didn’t enjoy Josh being around.

“Just take it slow,” Doctor Stump would tell him when a new mammal would come in. Josh would stand off to the side as Doctor Stump handled the animal, instead he ran and got things Doctor Stump needed for examination. Eventually, the animal usually was used to Josh’s presence by the end of the exam, and Josh sometimes could even pet them.

However, when the few lizards and snakes would come in for a check-up, they would flock to Josh. Josh wasn’t a huge fan of reptiles, but he slowly got used to them. For a week they had to take care of a small tree snake that got an infection, and Josh mostly walked around the office with it happily coiled around his arm, enjoying his warmth and touch. Ross the snake made a speedy recovery, and soon Josh was the designated reptile handler at the office, so he had no choice but to grow fond of them.

And then Mabu came into his life. Josh didn’t know how he connected to the little chameleon so quickly or strongly, but a month after he had been hired into the office, the little girl warmed his heart and never left his side for the three days she spent at the office. Mabu’s owner surrended her to a reptile recue group after she had cut her tongue on some wire in her cage and couldn’t afford to pay for treatment. Josh spent days hand feeding her and making sure she was comfortable until the infection cleared up and the cut was on its way to healing. And when it was time to give her back, Josh couldn’t.

So he called up Tyler.

“Hey, Ty. Sooo, how would you feel about me bringing a new little friend home?” He called on his break, even though Tyler was still in class. He only had a week left, so Josh had been trying to return the favor of looking after his boyfriend while he stressed over finals. Calling and interrupting his study session probably wasn’t helping, though.

“Is this about that chameleon you’ve been talking about?” Tyler sighed, and Josh pouted.

“Maybe. Look, she needs a good home and she won’t let me leave her alone for five minutes. I think we’re in love.”

“Only you would replace me with a freakin’ chameleon, J,” Tyler joked, but he gave in rather quickly. “Okay, but if I find crickets or mealworms anywhere besides her cage, I’m going to scream. Manly. It will be a totally manly terrified scream. 

“Of course it will be. Thank you so much, Ty, I’m sure that you’ll love her.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I need to get back to studying now. Love you,” Tyler said, and Josh returned the sentiment before hanging up.

Mabu came home with Josh that night, with Josh stopping by the pet store with her perched on his shoulder as he bought the biggest enclosure he could afford for her. He wanted his little lady to be comfortable. She was still having trouble catching crickets so Josh got her some mealworms that he could hand feed her if she needed him to.

Tyler was fast asleep on the couch when he got home, even though it was only around 8 at night. Josh tried to move him into bed, but Tyler woke up.

“Hey, you’re home,” Tyler said, blinking his eyes owlishly to get rid of lingering sleep. He took Josh’s position leaning over him as an opportunity to press a kiss to his lips and wrap him in a hug. Except when Tyler went to hug Josh, he was met with a face full of reptile. “Does it always perch on your shoulder like that?” Tyler mumbled into Josh’s shirt, his arms loose around his frame and his head tucked into his neck, the chameleon just inches away from his face.

“Yes, she does,” Josh replied, chuckling. Mabu looked at Tyler, her closest eye carefully scanning his face. She then moved slowly towards Tyler, reaching out a foot before trying to grab onto Tyler’s nose to climb.

Tyler huffed out a laugh, “I think she likes me.”

“That makes two of us,” Josh said, kissing the side of Tyler’s head. Together they set up Mabu’s enclosure, turning on her heated rock and heat lamp before watching her explore, Tyler holding Toothless so he wouldn’t jump at the new reptile.

Slowly, their family was growing.

* * *

They made it a tradition to go back to the lake on the Fourth of July. The two hours went by quickly since they all shared a car and it was easier to keep Tyler entertained. They also invited both of their families so they could finally meet.

They got to the beach and immediately Josh’s father started setting up the grill, a huge cooler full of hamburger, hotdogs, and fish next to him. Tyler’s dad joined him and the kids ignored them, instead they decided to play volley ball.

“Hey, cheater!” Jenna yelled as Debby used her wings to push off the ground and spike the ball into the ground.

“Your team has wings, too!” Debby yelled back, pointing at Josh and his brother. 

“Hey! You’re forgetting I have a handicap!” Josh replied, spreading his own wings out, showing off his lesser wingspan.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Josh,” his brother said, “You can do it!”

“Yeah, Josh c’mon!” His sister cheered from the other side of the net. Josh glanced at Tyler through the net. Tyler gave him a sympathetic yet hopeful glance before shrugging his shoulders. _Do what you’re comfortable with, J._

Josh sighed and shrugged his shoulders as well. “Fine, but you’ll have to show me how.” Josh’s brother and sisters cheered, and Josh decided it would be worth the embarrassment when he saw Tyler smile at him, full of pride.

They rearranged themselves on the sand so the ones with wings were on one side, and the humans were on the other.

“Okay, you just gotta push up pretty hard, and you should lift up,” Debby instructed, flapping her wings with a _whoosh_ before the wind lifted her up off the ground about a foot. Josh rolled his eyes.

“Yeah like it’s that easy. My wings aren’t that strong yet, Deb.”

“Well this’ll be good practice to get your muscle back,” the harpy said, gently falling back down into the sand. Josh sighed before taking a stance. He concentrated on spreading his wings out, and first he gently flapped them, his short wingspan barely making enough wind to move the sand around him. But then he pushed down rather hard, and only managed to push sand into the air.

“See?” Josh huffed, “Not strong enough.” 

“Just keep trying, bro,” his brother said, patting him on the back encouragingly. Josh looked over at Tyler and sighed. Tyler was looking at him from his seat in the sand, a bright smile on his lips.

Josh nodded and tried again. He pushed down against the air harder, flapping his wings down once, twice, three times, before he could feel a lightness in his feet. But Josh got tired before he could lift off of the ground, and he spit the sand out of his mouth that he managed to kick up. He sighed once more, disheartened.

Josh startled when Tyler spoke out next to him, “Need some help?” Tyler swiped some sand out of his hair before taking Josh’s hand. Josh returned Tyler’s bright smile and kissed him lightly before embracing him. Josh closed his eyes, and tried again.

Josh could feel Tyler lifting him, although not enough to lift him off of the ground. No, Josh did that himself, with two strong strokes of his wings. Josh opened his eyes to look down at Tyler about a foot below him, only holding his hands. It was a breathtaking moment, looking into Tyler’s sparkling eyes, so happy with glee that Josh was flying. Well, not flying, more like floating, just for a few seconds, because two seconds later he was back in Tyler’s embrace on the ground, laughing with him.

And then Josh was at the bottom of a dogpile, laughing in the sand with Tyler and their siblings and friends.

“I’m so proud of you,” Tyler whispered into his ear as they embraced, and Josh flushed at the statement. He would never get used to hearing that despite how often Tyler said it.

The rest of the day was spent swimming and, Josh’s favorite, sunbathing. Josh was reminded of a year ago when he sunbathed on his stomach, Tyler next to him strumming on his ukulele, much like they were now. Except this time, they both had their shirts off, Josh swaying his wings behind him in time to the soft clicks of the uke.

Josh listened to the sounds of the waves, Tyler’s humming, the melody, and the sounds of their family playing and laughing. He took them all in as they all swirled together and created the most comforting orchestra around his head. With the warmth of the sun and the warmth of his family surrounding him, Josh was finally at peace.

* * *

Tyler had come home to many weird things. He had come home to Josh curled up in a burrito of blankets multiple times on the couch, and he had come home to Josh completely naked on the couch.

With classes over and his last undergraduate year coming up ahead, Tyler was feeling quite anxious, and he was doing all that he could to stop his depression from curling around him and bringing him down. So he took Josh’s old job at the coffee shop to keep busy now that Josh was working at the vet clinic.

So when he came home at dinner to find Josh curled up on the couch underneath a heat lamp, he wasn’t surprised at all. He was even less surprised to find both Mabu and Toothless on Josh’s chest.

“I see they’re getting along nicely.”

“Yeah I was worried Toothless would try to eat her, but they seem to being doing okay.” Josh had one hand petting Toothless behind his ear and the other carefully petting Mabu along her back. “How was work?”

Tyler groaned, dropping his apron on the chair before following it, face pushed into the arm cushion. “I hate people. And socializing. But Jenna came in to bug me for an hour so that was nice.”

“Hey at least you don’t have wings to knock over any orders,” Josh laughed, causing Tyler to look up and smile. Toothless let out a meow and jumped over to the chair and curled up on Tyler’s lap.

“That’s true. So how is therapy going?”

Josh mocked Tyler by mimicking his groan. “Fine. Only two more weeks of physical therapy and then I’m done, which’ll be nice. And counseling is only down to once a month, so I’m basically a free man.” Josh smiled sweetly at Tyler over Mabu as he balanced her on his hand. 

“That’s great. I’m so–”

“Proud of me, I know,” Josh interrupted, rolling his eyes and smirking. “But now it’s not about me, it’s about you. So let’s put the pets away and then come cuddle with me.” Josh pouted when Tyler just stared at him, before making a funny face to make him laugh.

“You’re so disgustingly cute, y’know that?” Tyler chuckled, getting up to put Toothless in his place, the cat eagerly curling up into the warm spot Tyler left behind, before going over to Josh and reaching for Mabu.

“I try,” Josh said, reaching up to kiss Tyler before he could walk away to put Mabu back in her enclosure. “C’mere,” Josh patted the small space next to him, moving over for his boyfriend. Tyler plopped down on the couch, purposefully half on Josh, before turning and rubbing his face into his chest like a cat. Josh shifted so he could cradle Tyler against his chest and then caressed his hair, his wings cradling Tyler tightly along with his arms.

“I love you so much,” Tyler mumbled into Josh’s shoulder, rubbing his face into the fabric again, causing Josh to huff out a laugh.

“I know. I love you, too, Ty.”

“I know.”

“You better.” They laughed together, holding onto each other all the more tightly.

* * *

In the fall, when Tyler starts his student rounds at the hospital, Josh decided on something. A promise he made a while ago that he was too scared to do then. So when one morning he woke up alone to find the shiny black scale that had fallen off in the middle of the night, his mind was set.

He was going to ask Tyler to marry him.

It was a tradition in his family to use a dragon scale to propose to your loved one, his mom used her bright red scale to propose to his dad when they were in college. And Josh knew it was time to propose to Tyler. Tyler had given him everything, including himself, back. And now that Tyler was moving on with his life, scared of the future and falling back into old habits, Josh didn’t know of a better way to tell Tyler that he would always be there for him, like he was for Josh.

So that day, while Tyler was at the hospital, Josh went to the jeweler to get the scale fitted into a necklace. Josh and the employee spend nearly an hour looking for the right silver chain to go with the onyx scale. Eventually, they settled on something long, but simple, and Josh waited while she attached the scale.

Now all he had to do was wait.

Tyler was having a good day, that much Josh could tell from the texts he had been receiving on Tyler’s breaks.

_I love you ;3_

_Omg there’s this cute kid, I’m bringing her home with me she’s so cute jish, you’re gunna be a daddy j ;3_

_Hey j what are we doing for dinner, tbell?_

To which Josh responded:

_I love you too <3_

_Pls don’t kidnap someone’s kid ty, and pls don’t call me daddy_

_No I got something special planned <3_

Okay, the last one wasn’t quite true, since he was planning on Taco Bell. It was both their favorite, and what situation wasn’t improved by a whole bunch of burritos? Plus, it was their first date food, so it was practically romantic and kind of special. But the price of the food didn’t count. Not really. Not when this night was about him and Tyler. 

And Josh was just about freaking out when Tyler came home, still wearing his scrubs, smirking as he entered their apartment.

“You liar, I can smell T-Bell,” Tyler said, dripping his bag and coat on the floor, and then gasping as he saw Josh kneeling on the floor. Or on one knee rather.

“Tyler,” Josh started, smiling that brilliant smile, eyes all squinty, the very face that made him fall in love in the first place. 

“If you’re joking, J–,” Tyler said shakily, slowly closing the door behind him before approaching Josh.

“I would never josh about this,” Josh joked, and Tyler laughed, leaning down to take Josh’s head in his hands, teary eyes staring up at him.

“I though I’m the one that’s supposed to be crying,” Tyler said, wiping a falling tear from Josh’s cheek.

“You are crying, Ty.” Tyler blinked, surprised, before wiping the rapidly falling tears away.

“Oh,” Tyler hiccupped, smiling through his tears before, cupping Josh’s cheek again. “You wanna ask me something?” Tyler smiled. 

“Yes,” Josh continued, pulling out a small box from his pocket. “Tyler Robert Joseph, you have loved me through thick and thin, and I won’t ever be grateful enough,” Josh paused, his voice cracking through his tears, “for you continual support through all of my shit.” They laughed, and Tyler wiped away more tears as Josh opened the box, revealing in one of his jet black wing scales dangling off of a silver chain. Josh took it from the box, and held it out to Tyler, “And I’m going to be here for you, for all of your closet nights, and piano sessions at three in the morning, and for all of the good things, too. Just like you’ve been there for me. I am going to spend the rest of my life with you, Ty, no matter what.”

“Yes,” Tyler said, reaching to cradle the scale in between his fingers.

“I haven’t even asked it yet,” Josh chuckled, putting the chain over Tyler’s neck so the scale rested in the middle of Tyler’s chest.

“Sorry, go ahead.” Tyler sank down to his knees finally, looking into Josh’s eyes as he asked, 

“Will you marry me?”

“I already said yes, dork,” Tyler laughed before moving in to kiss his boyfriend, or now fiancé. Josh laughed into the kiss, his chest bubbling with happiness, and his wings and arms moving to hold Tyler close to him. “I love you,” Tyler said as he pulled back to rest his forehead against Josh’s, giggling as Josh’s hair tickled him and his short horns pressed against Tyler’s head.

“I love you, too,” Josh replied, giving another blinding, eye crinkling smile. “And I still can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Good. ‘Cause now you’re stuck with me, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I couldn’t ask for anything else."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to get headcanons and prompts from you guys, whether connected to this fic or not, so hit me up on tumblr (summerdownturn) because I'm 100% more likely to reply to you there <3


End file.
